New program for contact tracing underway in Georgia

ATLANTA - Contact tracing could be key to helping to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Georgia Department of Public Health is testing a new application to streamline the process.

Testing on the new contact tracing software is currently underway in three areas of the state. The Gwinnett-Newton-Rockdale Health district, the North Central Health District in Macon and the Coastal District in Savannah are currently in a pilot program for the contact tracing software.

"Anybody who tests positive will be enrolled in this program, they can provide the information of their own close contacts," said Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you'll get a text from the Georgia Department of Health asking for your close contacts. The Department of Health will then contact those individuals telling them they may have been exposed.

"We can make a communications network to those individuals and get them the information they need," said Hokanson.

Some people say they have questions about the information being shared and would rather tell the people they've come in contact with themselves.

"What are people doing with the data and how long is it being stored, and is it only being used for that, and what is the follow-up period, there's a lot more I'd like to know about this," said Daria Stepanova who lives in Gwinnett.